Method and system for dynamic selection of a coexistence method and transmit power level based on calibration data

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the invention may comprise a control system in communication with a radio frequency (RF) front-end subsystem. The RF front-end subsystem comprises a plurality of antennas coupled to a plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers. Each of the wireless transmitters or receivers is operable to communicate via one or more of a plurality of wireless interfaces in the communication device. The control system is configured to detect, based on interference data provided by the RF front-end system, potential interference by an interfering one of said plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers with operations of an interfered-with one of said plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers. The control system is further configured to mitigate said detected interference operation by providing calibration data to said interfered-with one or more of said plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/428,085, filed Apr. 22, 2009, which is incorporated by reference inits entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communication.More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to amethod and system for dynamic selection of a coexistence method andtransmit power level based on calibration data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The growth of system connectivity has been one of the major developmentsin recent years. Fewer and fewer systems are operating as stand-alonesystem, and most of today's systems are increasingly becoming elementsof one or more larger or complex networks. This growth in variousnetworking technologies have provided improved performance and increasedflexibility for these networks. Various wired and/or wireless basedcommunication standards have been developed to satisfy demands for everexpanding system connectivity. The growth of system connectivity hasalso spurred a growth in applications that takes advantage of thebenefits offered by the improved system connectivity, especially thosehaving access to entities that provides improved processing and/orstorage capabilities.

Communication devices, which may be mobile and/or stationary, maycomprise a plurality of wired and/or wireless interfaces to enable useof various standards for communicating data. For example, mobiledevices, which enable cellular connectivity, have become a near absolutenecessity in today's world. While mobile technology originally evolvedfrom traditional land-based communication technologies, and was merelyintended to add an element of mobility to the traditional telephonyservice, this technology has grown beyond that initial purpose. Manymodern mobile technologies, including such technologies asGSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, CDMA2000, and LTE, incorporate substantial datacapabilities. Most of today's mobile services comprise such features astext messaging, audio/video streaming, and web browsing.

Modern communication devices may also be operable to utilize otherwireless interfaces to communicate via, for example, wireless personalarea networks (WPAN) and/or wireless local area network (WLAN)interfaces. The use of wireless personal area networks (WPAN) continuesto gain popularity in a great number of applications because of theflexibility and convenience in connectivity they provide. WPAN systemsgenerally replace cumbersome cabling and/or wiring used to connectperipheral devices and/or mobile terminals by providing short distancewireless links that allow connectivity within very narrow spatial limits(typically, a 10-meter range). An exemplary WPAN system utilizes astandardized technology such as Class 2 Bluetooth (BT) technology. WhileWPAN may be very beneficial for certain applications, other applicationsmay require larger service areas and/or capabilities. To satisfy suchneeds, other technologies such as Wireless local area networks (WLAN)have been developed to provide greater wireless service. In contrast tothe WPAN systems, WLAN provide connectivity to devices that are locatedwithin a slightly larger geographical area, such as the area covered bya building or a campus, for example.

WLAN systems are generally based on specific standards, for example IEEE802.11 standard specifications, and typically operate within a 100-meterrange, and are generally utilized to supplement the communicationcapacity provided by traditional wired Local Area Networks (LANs)installed in the same geographic area as the WLAN system. Some WLANsystems are operated in conjunction with WPAN systems to provide userswith an enhanced overall functionality. For example, Bluetoothtechnology may be utilized to connect a laptop computer or a handheldwireless terminal to a peripheral device, such as a keyboard, mouse,headphone and/or printer, while the laptop computer or the handheldwireless terminal is also connected to a campus-wide WLAN networkthrough an access point (AP) located within the building. Also, mobiletechnology enables the use of the mobile phone as a form of wirelessmodem that allows connecting a laptop, for example, to the internet viaa mobile network. More recently, Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX) based systems have become popular, and use ofWiMAX to provide wireless connectivity is expanding.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for dynamic selection of acoexistence method and transmit power level based on calibration data,substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at leastone of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary communicationsystem comprising a communication device that is operable to support aplurality of wireless interfaces, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary communicationsystem that is operable to support multiple wireless interfacesutilizing coexistence techniques, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary controlsubsystem that enables managing and/or controlling RF communication in asystem that supports RF coexistence, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary RF front-endsubsystem that enables performing RF communication in a system thatsupports RF coexistence, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that illustrates use of dynamic coexistencemanagement in a communication system, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor dynamic selection of a coexistence method and transmit power levelbased on calibration data. In various embodiments of the invention,operations of wireless transmitters and/or receivers in a communicationdevice may be calibrated to mitigate potential interference causedduring concurrent communications via the wireless interfaces in thecommunication device. Calibration may be performed dynamically, and maycomprise managing system parameters and/or physical resources of thecommunication device and/or the wireless transmitters and/or receivers;managing characteristics of wireless communication performed via thewireless transmitters and/or receivers; and/or managing isolationbetween two or more of the plurality of wireless transmitters and/orreceivers in the communication device. System parameters and/or physicalresources may comprise adaptive frequency bands, time slots, antennaaccess, frequency hopping (AFH) maps, transmission power, and use oflinearity and/or blocking, and/or antenna settings. Isolation maycomprise spatial isolation and/or time-domain based isolation, utilizingtransmission and/or reception scheduling arbitration, for example.Characteristics of wireless communication may comprise packet types,packet priority, and/or start time and/or end time of communicatedframes. Management of the characteristics of wireless communication maybe performed based on performance parameters, which may comprise datatransmission priority and/or quality of service (QoS) parameters.

The calibration may be performed based on data generated, via thewireless transmitters and/or receivers, during active and/or idle phasesof operations. The data may be based on monitoring, via each of thewireless transmitters and/or receivers, of operations of remainingwireless transmitters and/or receivers. The monitoring may be performedduring active and/or or idle states in the monitoring wirelesstransmitters and/or receivers. The monitoring may comprise trackingreceived signal strength indicator (RSSI) data during wirelesstransmission via monitored wireless transmitters and/or receivers. Acoexistence manager may be utilized in the communication device tomanage overall calibration operations, and may exchange data and/orcontrol signaling with each of the wireless transmitters and/orreceivers to enable performing calibration operations. A maximumtransmission power level for each of monitored wireless transmitters maybe determined, based on monitored data, to enable performing wirelessreception via monitoring wireless receivers during wireless transmissionvia the monitored wireless transmitters.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary communicationsystem comprising a communication device that is operable to support aplurality of wireless interfaces, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a communicationdevice 102, a wireless network 104, an access point 106, a wirelesslocal network area (WLAN) link 108, a cellular network 110, a cellularbase station 112, and a cellular link 114. FIG. 1 also comprises apersonal area network (PAN) device 116, a wireless personal area network(WPAN) link 118, a satellite head-end 120, a satellite link 122, aWorldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) network 124, aWiMAX access point 126, a WiMAX link 128, a local wireless device 130,and an inter-device link 132.

The communication device 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may enable communications via a plurality ofwireless interfaces, utilizing one or more radio transceivers. Thecommunication device 102 may comprise, for example, a personal user-enddevice that may be operable to execute various tasks and/or applicationsrequested via device users, wherein at least some of operationsperformed via the communication device 102 may require interactions withone or more other devices and/or networks via one or more wirelessinterfaces. The communication device 102 may be operable, for example,to support and/or utilize the WLAN link 108, the WPAN link 118, thesatellite link 122, the WiMAX link 128 and/or the inter-device link 132.Exemplary devices comprise a PDA, a Smartphone, a laptop and/or a PCthat are operable to utilize one or more wireless communicationinterfaces.

The wireless network 104 may comprise a plurality of wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) access points, and suitable logic, circuitry and/or codethat may enable implementing a functional block corresponding to awireless LAN technology. Exemplary wireless LAN technology may comprisefor example IEEE 802.11 based networks.

The cellular network 110 may comprise a plurality of the cellular basestation 112, and suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may enablecommunication via one or more cellular technologies. Exemplary cellulartechnologies may comprise CDMA, WCDMA, CDMA1000, HSDPA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE,and UMTS. The cellular base station 112 may comprise suitable hardware,logic, circuitry, and/or code that may enable transmission and/orreception of cellular based communications between the cellular network110 and cellular capable devices, for example the communication device102. The cellular base station 112 may correspond, for example, to basestations and/or cellular towers and/or within a cellular communicationsystem.

The PAN device 116 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may enable performing some accessory functionality inconjunction with use of other devices, for example the communicationdevice 102, based on one or more PAN protocols. For example, the PANdevice 116 may comprise a hands-free headset that may be utilized, inconjunction with the communication device 102, during cellular basedvoice calls. The communication device 102 may interact with the PANdevice 116 via one or more PAN interfaces, which may be based on wiredand/or wireless PAN interfaces. For example, the communication device102 may communicate with the PAN device 116 via the WPAN link 118. TheWPAN link 118 may correspond to Bluetooth, ZigBee, and/or Ultra-Wideband(UWB) connections between the PAN device 116 and the communicationdevice 102.

The satellite head-end 120 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may enable communication with land-based devices via satellitelinks, including, for example, the satellite link 122. The satellitehead-end 120 may comprise, for example, an orbiting satellite node in aglobal navigation satellite system (GNSS), which may comprise, forexample, the Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS and/or Galileosatellite systems based interfaces. The satellite link 122 may enableunidirectional and/or bidirectional communication between the satellitehead-end 120 and land-based devices, for example the communicationdevice 102.

The WiMAX network 124 may comprise a plurality of the WiMAX accesspoints 126, and may comprise suitable interfaces, logic, circuitryand/or code that may enable Worldwide Interoperability for MicrowaveAccess (WiMAX) compliant communication. The WiMAX access point 126 maycomprise suitable hardware, logic, circuitry, and/or code that mayenable transmission and/or reception of WiMAX based communicationsbetween the WiMAX network 124 and WiMAX capable devices, for example thecommunication device 102.

The local wireless device 130 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be enabled to communicate with thecommunication device 102 to perform one or more tasks requested by thecommunication device 102. The invention may not be limited to a specificdevice, and may comprise, for example, a general purpose processingdevice, a specialized processing device, a specialized peripheraldevice, or any combination of suitable hardware, and/or code, which maybe enabled to perform a task requested via the communication device 102.The local wireless device 130 may comprise, for example, ahigh-definition television (HDTV) set, a dedicated audio system, and/ora digital video player device, which may be optimized to provideimproved audio and/or video output quality. The local wireless device130 may be enabled to communicate with the communication device 102directly via one or more wireless interfaces utilizing one or morewireless connections. Exemplary wireless connections may be operable tohandle, for example, WLAN, WiMAX, and/or WPAN traffic. Alternatively,the communication between the local wireless device 130 and thecommunication device 102 may be performed directly based on theinter-device interface 132, which may be operable to establish andmaintain connections between specific devices. For example, theinter-device interface 132 may comprise a proprietary wireless interfacethat enables wireless communication between a class of devices that maycomprise the local wireless device 130 and the communication device 102.

In operation, the communication device 102 may be utilized to performone or more tasks requested via users of the communication device 102,wherein the communication device 102 may need to communicate with one ormore other entities to perform various requested tasks. For example, thecommunication device 102 may enable personal communication, use ofsatellite based location determination, interactive gaming, and/orplaying of audio/video streams received from external sources. Thecommunication device 102 may enable connectivity via a plurality ofavailable networks and/or wireless interfaces, which may be necessary toperform requested tasks. For example, the communication device 102 mayutilize the WLAN link 108 to access the wireless network 104 via theaccess point 106. The communication device 102 may also utilize thecellular link 114 to access the cellular network 110 via the cellulartransceiver 112 and/or utilize the WiMAX link 128 to access the WiMAXnetwork 124 via the WiMAX access point 126. The communication device 102may also communicate directly with devices and/or resources that may becommunicatively coupled with the communication device 102. For example,the communication device 102 may communicate directly with the localnetworked device 130, via the inter-device link 132; and/or maycommunicate directly with the PAN device 116 via the WPAN link 118.

During wireless communication by the communication device 102, RFsignals may be transmitted and/or received to facilitate datacommunication and/or signaling utilizing on one or more of the supportedwireless interfaces in the communication device 102, and utilizing aplurality of RF subsystems that enable use of one or more antenna tofacilitate the RF communications. For example, during communicationbetween the communication device 102 and the PAN device 116, BluetoothRF signals comprising voice, video and/or data packets may becommunicated between the communication device 102 and the PAN device116. Similarly, the communication device 102 may be operable to performWLAN, WiMAX, cellular and/or other types of RF communication via theWLAN link 108, the WiMAX link 128, the cellular link 112, and/or otherwireless links, respectively, which are supported via the communicationdevices 102.

Each type of RF communication may similarly be subject to a specific RFprotocol requirement. For example, WLAN RF communication based on the802.11 protocol requirements may be performed only at specific frequencybands, for example the 2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHz bands. Bluetooth RFcommunication may also occur in the 2.4 GHz band. WiMax RF communicationbased on the 802.16 protocol requirements may be performed only atspecific frequency bands, for example the 2-11 GHz band. Because some ofthe frequency bands utilized with various wireless interfaces mayoverlap, simultaneous communication based on the wireless communicationprotocols that are utilized may be limited by interference caused by useof the same and/or adjacent frequencies. For example, Bluetooth RFtransmission at about 2.4 GHz via the communication device 102 may causeinterference with 802.11 based RF reception in the communication device102 where the 802.11 RF signals are transmitted by a source devicewithin the 2.4 GHz band.

In an exemplary aspect of the invention, various techniques may beutilized via the communication device 102 to enable and/or to improvecoexistence of concurrent RF communication via one or more wirelessinterfaces supported via the communication device 102. Coexistencesolutions may enable multiple RF subsystems to operate in the samedevice. The coexistence may be based on existence and/or use ofsufficient isolation between the RF subsystems that no or littleinterference may be caused by an RF subsystem to other RF subsystemssuch that concurrent RF transmission and/or reception operations may beperformed without any additional processing and/or management.Coexistence may also be based on time domain based techniques, using,for example, arbitration based scheduling, which may ensure that RFtransmissions that potentially may cause interference may be completelyblocked during allocated periods for RF reception via other RFsubsystems.

In various embodiments of the invention, coexistence performance incommunication devices comprising multiple radios, for example thecommunication device 102, may be improved by utilizing calibrationmasking on various RF coupling paths. Calibration may comprise managing,adjusting and/or controlling operations and/or parameters that arerelevant to RF communications via the communication device 102.Calibration masking may be utilized, for example, to enable masking atleast some effects of RF transmission and/or reception via a wirelesslink in the communication device 102 such that potential interference toother RF transmissions and/or receptions may be prevented and/orreduced. Consequently, calibration masking may optimize, for example,use of various coexistence related parameters and/or data, which maycomprise, for example, adaptive frequency settings, output transmissionpower, antenna settings, linearity/phase noise, and/or parameters and/orcharacteristics of underlying wireless communications. The calibrationmay be preprocessed, during design of the communication device 102 forexample, and/or may be performed dynamically during RF operations in thecommunication device 102.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary communicationsystem that is operable to support multiple wireless interfacesutilizing coexistence techniques, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. Referring to FIG. 2A, there is shown a communicationsystem 200 comprising a control subsystem 202 and an RF front-endsubsystem 204.

The communication system 200 may comprise the control subsystem 202, theRF front-end subsystem 204, and suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may enable providing RF based communication operationsto facilitate communication via a plurality of wireless interfaces 206a, . . . , 206 c in a communication device. The wireless interfaces 206a, . . . , 206 c may comprise, for example, a Wireless LAN (WLAN)interface, an Ultra-wideband (UWB) interface, a WiMAX interface, acellular interface, a Bluetooth interface, a ZigBee interface, a GNSSinterface, and/or an FM interface.

The control subsystem 202 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide management and/orcontrol functionality in the communication system 200 to support RFtransmission and/or reception operations during communication via theplurality wireless interfaces 206 a, . . . , 206 c.

The RF front-end subsystem 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitryand/or code that may be operable to perform RF transmission and/orreception, utilizing a plurality of antennas and/or frequency bands,during communications via the plurality of wireless interfaces 206 a, .. . , 206 c.

In operation, the communication system 200 may be integrated in acommunication device, for example the communication device 102, tofacilitate RF communication. The communication system 200 may beoperable, for example, to provide RF communication corresponding toBluetooth, WLAN, WiMAX, cellular and/or FM based communications in thecommunication device 102. The communications may occur separately orconcurrently. The RF front-end subsystem 204 may be operable to performRF transmission and/or reception signals comprising data and/or controlpackets for the various wireless communication protocols. The controlsubsystem 202 may be operable to control and/or manage the operations ofthe RF front-end subsystem 204, based on, for example, feedback providedvia the subsystem 204, predefined and/or dynamically determinedinformation, and/or based on input provided to the communication system200, by the communication device 102 and/or its users. For example, thecontrol subsystem 202 may be operable to configure the RF front-endsubsystem 204; to manage use of frequency bands that be available to RFcommunication based on supported wireless interfaces; to manage, controland/or support RF processing operations; and/or to request and/orprocess interference related operation related data receive from the RFfront-end subsystem 204. The RF front-end subsystem 204 may be operable,for example, to monitor effects of RF transmissions on remaining RFoperations available via the RF front-end subsystem 204.

In an exemplary aspect of the invention, the communication system 200may be operable to enable calibrating coexistence operations availablevia the communication system 200. For example, the control subsystem 202and/or the RF front-end subsystem 204 may be operable to utilizecalibration techniques that enable improving isolation performance viathe RF front-end subsystem 204 and/or time-domain based arbitrationscheduling in the communication system 200 to facilitate concurrent RFcommunications that may utilize the same and/or adjacent frequencybands. For example, calibration techniques may comprise managing,adjusting and/or controlling operations and/or parameters that arerelevant to RF communications via the communication system 200.Calibration may be utilized, for example, to mask at least some effectsof RF transmission and/or reception, performed during communicationthrough one of the plurality of wireless interfaces 206 a, . . . , 206c, to other wireless interfaces and/or communication links in thecommunication system 200 such that potential RF interference may beprevented and/or reduced. The calibration related data may be generatedand/or utilized to optimize, for example, RF coupling paths via thecommunication system 200 to optimize various coexistence parameters,which may comprise, for example, adaptive frequency settings, outputtransmission power, antenna settings, linearity/phase noise, and/orparameters and/or characteristics of underlying wireless communications.For example, FM based RF transmission, via the RF front-end subsystem204, may produce harmonics that may fall into the GPS RF band adverselyaffecting GPS based RF reception in communication system 200. ConcurrentFM and GPS RF communication via the RF front-end subsystem 204, however,may be achieved by lowering the transmit power levels utilized during FMbased RF transmission and/or by adjusting the linearity parametersutilizing during processing of received GPS based RF signals tosuppress, for example, some of the interference caused by the FM RFtransmission. The calibration processing via the communication systemmay be performed dynamically during RF operations, duringinitialization, and/or during a calibration operating mode of thecommunication system 200. Additionally, the RF front-end subsystem 204monitoring function may be utilized to enable maintaining and/orupdating a local RF interference related database, via the controllingsubsystem 202 for example, which may subsequently be utilized to planand/or configure coexistence operations during concurrent RFcommunications via the communication system 200.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary controlsubsystem that enables managing and/or controlling RF communication in asystem that supports RF coexistence, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. Referring to FIG. 2B, there is shown the controlsubsystem 202 comprising a main processor 210, a memory 212, a RFprocessing block 214, and a coexistence manager function 216.

The control subsystem 202 may comprise the main processor 210, thememory 212, the RF processing block 214, the coexistence managerfunction 216, and/or suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or codethat may enable facilitating, managing and/or controlling communicationoperations via a plurality of RF transceivers based on a plurality ofwireless interfaces, substantially as described with regards to FIG. 2A.The control subsystem 202 may be operable to enable providing managementand/or control functionality in a communication system, for example thecommunication system 200, which may support RF transmission and/orreception during communication via a plurality wireless interfaces.

The main processor 210 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may enable controlling, managing and/or supporting processingoperations in the control subsystem 202 and/or the communication system200. The main processor 210 may be utilized to control at least aportion of the memory 212, the RF processing block 214, the coexistencemanager function 216, and/or the RF front-end subsystem 204. In thisregard, the main processor 210 may generate, for example, signals forcontrolling operations within the control subsystem 202 and/or the RFfront-end subsystem 204. The main processor 210 may also enableexecution of applications that may be utilized by the control subsystem202.

The memory 212 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code thatmay enable storage of data, code and/or other information utilized, forexample, by the control subsystem 202 and/or the RF front-end subsystem204. For example, the memory 212 may be utilized for storingconfiguration data and/or execution code that is utilized by the mainprocessor 210. The memory 212 may also be utilized to store information,such as configuration and/or management information that may be utilizedto control the operations of at least a portion of the RF front-endsubsystem 204.

The RF processing block 214 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,and/or code that may be enabled to provide dedicated processingoperations during RF transmission and/or reception operations in thecommunication system 200. The RF processing block 214 may enable, forexample, processing of baseband signals during transmission and/orreception of RF signals via the RF front-end subsystem 204. The RFprocessing block 214 may also be operable to enable generating controland/or processing signals, such as local oscillator signals, tofacilitate performing conversion and/or modulation operations duringreception and/or transmission of RF signals. Although the RF processingblock 214 may be depicted as a single block, the invention need not beso limited. Accordingly, other embodiments of the invention may comprisea plurality of baseband processors for processing signals for one ormore available RF transceivers.

The coexistence manager function 216 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may enable managing coexistenceoperations via the communication system 200. The coexistence managerfunction 216 may be operable to process feedback information and/orsignals provided by the RF front-end subsystem 204, for example, toenable planning coexistence operations. The coexistence operations maycomprise real-time, dynamic calibration of the RF operations in the RFfront-end subsystem during concurrent RF communications.

In operation, the control subsystem 202 may be operable to controland/or manage the operations of the RF front-end subsystem 204. The mainprocessor 210 and/or the RF processing block 214 may enable configuringof the RF front-end subsystem 204, based on configuration informationstored via the memory 212 for example, managing and/or controlling useof frequency bands that be available to RF communication based onsupported wireless interfaces, and/or controlling and/or contributing toRF processing operations that facilitate transmission and/or receptionof RF signals via the RF front-end subsystem 204. The main processor 210may also enable processing feedback provided via the RF front-endsubsystem 204, predefined parameters stored via the memory 212,dynamically determined information during processing operations, and/orinput provided into the communication system 200. For example, the mainprocessor 210 may process interference related data received from the RFfront-end subsystem 204, which may be requested via the coexistencemanager function 216. The interference data may then be stored via thememory 212, wherein the interference data may subsequently be retrievedto enable performing, for example, coexistence operations during RFcommunication.

During coexistence operations, the main processor 210, the memory 212,the RF processing block 214 and/or the coexistence manager function 216may be operable to control, manage and/or support calibratingcoexistence operations available via the communication system 200. Forexample, the coexistence manager function 216 may be operable todetermine potential RF interference that may arise during simultaneousRF communications via the RF front-end subsystem 204, which may beperformed via the same and/or adjacent frequency bands, based onreal-time feedback and/or predetermine interference data available viathe memory 212. The coexistence manager function 216 may then beoperable to determine applicable coexistence techniques and/orcalibration data that may enable improving isolation performance via theRF front-end subsystem 204 and/or time-domain based arbitrationscheduling to facilitate concurrent RF communications via the RFfront-end subsystem 204. Various coexistence techniques and/orcalibration data may be provided by the coexistence manager function216. For example, adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) maps, which may bemaintained via the memory 212, may be adjusted to enable avoidingcertain frequencies; antenna settings, which may comprise directionalityparameters that enable directional transmit and/or receive behavior, maybe adjusted; and/or RF processing parameters including transmit powerlevel, receive linearity and/or filtering, and/or adaptive noisecancellation algorithms may also be used and/or modified. Use of AHFmaps may enable, for example, avoiding one or more Bluetooth channelsduring Bluetooth communication to mitigate potential interference thatmay be caused by and/or to Bluetooth transmission and/or reception viathe RF front-end subsystem 204. Some coexistence techniques may also beutilized during RF processing operations. For example, high-lowinjection may be utilized, via, for example via the RF processing block214, to prevent and/or remedy potential interference during RFprocessing of signals communicated via the RF front-end subsystem 204.With high-side injection, the local oscillator (LO) frequency usedduring modulation and/or demodulation processing operations is higherthan the target RF carrier signal frequency, while in low-sideinjection, the LO frequency used is lower than the target RF carriersignal frequency; in either case, the same intermediate frequency (IF)is generated. Accordingly, the LO frequency used may be managed,controlled, and/or adjusted to enable avoiding use the type of injectionthat may be suspect to interference, cause by, for example, harmonics ofother RF signals. For example, the LO frequency used during processingof GPS signals via the system 200 may be adjusted and/or modified toenable use of high-side injection and/or low-side injection to remedypotential interference that may be introduced by harmonics of FMsignals.

In an embodiment of the invention, the parameters and/or characteristicsof data transfer based on the underlying wireless interface may also memodified and/or configured. Quality of service (QoS) and/or priority ofdata transfer may be utilized and/or adjusted to prevent, mitigateand/or overcome potential interference. Accordingly, during managementof concurrent communications with potential RF interference, preferencemay be given, during calibration operations, to communications withhigher QoS or priority of data transfer. Delivery parameters, asdetermined and/or utilized via MAC layers in the supported wirelessinterfaces for example, may be adjusted to enable mitigating packet losscaused by RF interference by use of packet retransmission techniques.For example, during management of concurrent communications withpotential RF interference, retransmission mechanisms may be configuredand utilized to ensure delivery of data that may be lost because of RFinterference.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary RF front-endsubsystem that enables performing RF communication in a system thatsupports RF coexistence, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 2C, there is shown the RF front-endsubsystem 204 comprising an antenna subsystem 230, and a plurality ofantennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b, and a plurality of RF transceivers 234which may comprise a BT/WLAN RF transceiver 236, a WiMAX RF transceiver238 a, cellular RF transceiver 240, a GNSS RF receiver 242, and an FM RFtransmitter 244. Each of the RF transceivers in the plurality of RFtransceivers 234 may also comprise a resource manager 246.

The RF front-end subsystem 204 may comprise, for example, the antennasubsystem 230, and a plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b, and aplurality of RF transceivers 234, and/or suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may enable performing RF transmission and/orreception operations subject to control and/or management provided viathe control subsystem 202, substantially as described with regards toFIGS. 2A and 2B. The RF front-end subsystem 204 may be operable toenable performing RF transmission and/or reception during communicationsvia a plurality of wireless interfaces. The RF front-end subsystem 204may be integrated within a communication system, for example thecommunication system 200, to enable supporting concurrent RFtransmission and/or reception during communication via a pluralitywireless interfaces utilizing calibration based coexistence techniques,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

The BT/WLAN RF transceiver 236 may comprise suitable logic, circuitryand/or code that may enable performing Bluetooth (BT) and/or wirelessLAN (WLAN) communications. The BT/WLAN RF transceiver 236 may beoperable, for example, to enable processing of transmitted and/orreceived WLAN and/or BT based RF signals via the antenna subsystem 230and one or more of the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b. TheBT/WLAN RF transceiver 236 may be operable, for example, to performamplification, filtering modulation and/or conversion processingoperations to facilitate transmitting and/or receiving of RF signals atappropriate and/or configured frequencies.

The WiMAX RF transceiver 238 may comprise suitable logic, circuitryand/or code that may enable performing WiMAX communications. The WiMAXRF transceiver 238 may be operable, for example, to enable processing oftransmitted and/or received WiMAX based RF signals via the antennasubsystem 230 and one or more of the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . ., 232 b. The WiMAX RF transceiver 238 may be operable, for example, toperform amplification, filtering modulation and/or conversion processingoperations to facilitate transmitting and/or receiving of RF signals atappropriate and/or configured frequencies.

The cellular RF transceiver 240 may comprise suitable logic, circuitryand/or code that may enable performing cellular communications.Exemplary cellular interfaces comprise GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000 and/or WCDMA.The cellular RF transceiver 240 may be operable, for example, to enableprocessing of transmitted and/or received cellular based RF signals viathe antenna subsystem 230 and one or more of the plurality of antennas232 a, . . . , 232 b. The cellular RF transceiver 240 may be operable,for example, to perform amplification, filtering modulation and/orconversion processing operations to facilitate transmitting and/orreceiving of RF signals at appropriate and/or configured frequencies.

The GNSS RF receiver 242 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may enable performing GNSS communications. Exemplary GNSSinterfaces may comprise, for example, GPS, GLONASS and/or Galileosatellite systems based interfaces. The GNSS RF receiver 242 may beoperable, for example, to enable processing received GNSS based signalsvia the antenna subsystem 230 and one or more of the plurality ofantennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b. The GNSS RF receiver 242 may be operable,for example, to perform amplification, filtering modulation and/orconversion processing operations to facilitate reception of RF signalsat appropriate and/or configured frequencies.

The FM RF transmitter 244 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may enable performing frequency modulation (FM)communications. The FM RF transmitter 244 may be operable, for example,to enable processing transmitted FM based signals via the antennasubsystem 230 and one or more of the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . ., 232 b. The FM RF transmitter 238 may be operable, for example, toperform amplification, filtering modulation and/or conversion processingoperations to facilitate transmission of RF signals at appropriateand/or configured frequencies.

The antenna subsystem 230 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may enable switching and/or routing of RF signals generatedand/or processed via the BT/WLAN RF transceiver 236, the WiMAX RFtransceiver 238, the cellular RF transceiver 240, the GNSS RF receiver242 and/or the FM transmitter 244, which are transmitted and/or receivedvia one or more of the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b. Eachof the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry and/or code that enable transmission and/or receptionof RF signals within certain bandwidths. For example, one or more of theplurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b may enable RF transmissionand/or reception via the 2.4 GHz, which is suitable for WiMAX, Bluetoothand/or WLAN RF transmissions and/or receptions. The plurality ofantennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b may be communicatively coupled to theantenna subsystem 230.

The resource manager 246 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may enable managing of physical and system parameters and/orresources within an RF transceiver. The resource manager 246 may beintegrated into an RF transceiver, for example the BT/WLAN RFtransceiver 236, to provide feedback information pertaining to RFoperations performed via the RF transceiver and/or informationpertaining to effects of RF operations performing via other RFtransceivers on the RF transceiver.

In operation, the RF front-end subsystem 204 may be operable to perform,via the plurality of RF transceivers 234, the antenna subsystem 230,and/or the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b RF transmissionand/or reception that is necessary facilitate communications pertainingto supported wireless interfaces. For example, during Bluetooth RFcommunication, the BT/WLAN RF transceiver 236 is operable to receiveand/or transmit Bluetooth specific RF signals that are utilized tocommunicate Bluetooth based data. RF signaling may be routed via theantenna subsystem 230 to facilitate over-the-air transmission and/orreception of the RF signals via one or more of the plurality of antennas232 a, . . . , 232 b. In an exemplary aspect of the invention, at leastsome of the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b may be utilizedto communication RF signals pertaining to different wireless interfacesbut are in the same or sufficient adjacent frequency bands. For example,Bluetooth, 802.11 and/or WiMAX interfaces may be operable to utilizefrequency in the 2.4 GHz band. Consequently, RF transmission via one orthe plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b, pertaining to a wirelessinterface may adversely affect RF reception via on another antenna inthe plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b, pertaining to the sameand/or another wireless interface.

During coexistence operations, the plurality of RF transceivers 234, theantenna subsystem 230, and/or the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . ,232 b may be operable to enable utilizing coexistence operations and/orcalibration data to facilitate concurrent RF communications. Forexample, the BT/WLAN RF transceiver 236 and the WiMAX RF transceiver 238may be operable utilize input provided via the coexistence managerfunction 216 to adjust and/or modify RF communication operations toreduce, mitigate, and/or eliminate interference during concurrentBluetooth and WiMAX and RF communication. In an exemplary aspect of theinvention, the resource manager 246 may be operable to utilize thecalibration data to reconfigure and/or modify RF communicationoperations in each of the plurality of RF transceivers 234.Additionally, the resource manager 246 may be operable to providefeedback to the coexistence manager function 216 to facilitatecoexistence operations. For example, the resource manager 246 in thecellular RF transceiver 240 may be operable to determine isolation of RFcommunication via the cellular RF transceiver 240 from other RFcommunications via the plurality of RF transceivers 234 by monitoringreceived signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurements in each of RFtransceivers to determine RSSI effects of RF transmission via remainingRF transceivers by tracking changes in RSSI effects during active and/oridle periods in the monitoring and/or monitored RF transceivers. Theresource manager 246 may also be operable to enable updating and/ormaintaining data of RF communication parameters, for example frequenciesand/or amplitudes, which may have been deemed to degrade BER/PERperformance of RF communication via the cellular RF transceiver 240.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that illustrates use of dynamic coexistencemanagement in a communication system, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a flow chart 300comprising a plurality of exemplary steps, which may be operable toperform dynamic RF coexistence management in a system that comprises aplurality of RF transceivers.

In step 302, potential interference caused during concurrent RFcommunication may be determined. For example, the control subsystem 202may be operable to determine, via the coexistence manager function 216for example, possible interference that may be caused during RFtransmission and/or reception via one of the plurality of radiotransceivers 234 to remaining radio transceivers. Potential interferencemay be caused when communication via one wireless interface mayinterfere with communication via one or more other wirelessinterference. In step 304 a determination whether coexistence may beavailable is performed. The availability of coexistence may bedetermined, in the communication system 200 based on, for example, aplurality of exemplary factors, comprising system parameters,configuration information, QoS and/or priority parameters of the datatransfers, and/or availability of physical resources to supportconcurrent RF communications. In instances where it may be determinedthat coexistence is unavailable, the exemplary steps may terminate.

Returning to step 304, in instances where coexistence is available, theexemplary steps proceed to step 306. In step 306, coexistence techniquesand/or calibration masking data may be determined. For example, thecoexistence manager function 216 may be operable to determine applicablecoexistence techniques and/or calibration information that may enableconcurrent RF communication via the RF front-end subsystem 204,substantially as described in FIG. 2B. In step 308, the coexistencetechniques and/or calibration information are utilized to configure,control, adjust and/or manage RF communications. The RF communicationsmay be configured and/or adjusted directly, by modifying physical (PHY)layer, RF related parameters including, for example, transmission power,user frequency bands and/or modulation parameters. Alternatively, the RFcommunications may be adjusted and/or configured indirectly via, forexample, modifications and/or adjustments in coexistence techniquesand/or characteristics of wireless interfaces to which the RFcommunications correspond. For example, the RF front-end subsystem 204may be operable to utilize the coexistence and/or calibration dataprovided via the coexistence manager 216 to configure the correspondingRF coupling paths via the plurality of RF transceivers 234, the antennasubsystem 230, and/or the plurality of antennas 232 a, . . . , 232 b tofacilitate concurrent RF communications. Wireless interface modificationmay comprise, for example, adjusting and/or controlling media accesscontrol (MAC) based parameters, including retransmission and/or packetencapsulation parameters. In the step 310, the RF communications areperformed. For example, the BT/WLAN RF transceiver 236 and the WiMAXtransceiver 238 may be operable to perform concurrent WiMAX andBluetooth RF communications based on the coexistence parameters providedvia the control subsystem 202. In step 312 a determination whetheradjustments may be needed may be is performed. The need for adjustmentmay be determined during the concurrent RF communications, for example,periodically and/or based on feedback information provided by one ormore instances of the resource managers 246 where changes that mayaffect ongoing RF communications may be detected. In instances where itmay be determined that adjustments are needed, the exemplary stepsproceeds to step 302, to enable to reconfiguring coexistence operations.

Returning to step 312, in instances where it may be determined thatadjustments are not need, the exemplary steps return back to step 310 tocontinue concurrent RF communications. Once the RF communications arecomplete, the exemplary steps may terminate.

Various embodiments of the invention may comprise a method and systemfor dynamic selection of coexistence method and transmit power levelbased on calibration data. Operations of the plurality of RFtransceivers 234, comprising, for example, the BT/WLAN RF transceiver236, the WiMAX RF transceiver 238 a, the cellular RF transceiver 240,the GNSS RF receiver 242, and/or the FM RF transmitter 244 in thecommunication system 200 may be calibrated to mitigate potentialinterference caused during concurrent communications via the wirelessinterfaces in the communication system 200. Calibration may be performeddynamically and/or may be performed during design and/or manufacture ofthe communication system 200. Calibration operations may comprisemanaging system parameters and/or physical resources of thecommunication system 200 and/or the plurality of RF transceivers 234;managing characteristics of wireless communication performed via theplurality of RF transceivers 234; and/or managing isolation between twoor more of the plurality of plurality of RF transceivers 234 in thecommunication system 200. System parameters and/or physical resourcesmay comprise adaptive frequency bands, time slots, antenna access,frequency hopping (AFH) maps, transmission power, use of linearityand/or blocking, and/or antenna settings. Isolation may comprise spatialisolation and/or time-domain based isolation, utilizing transmissionand/or reception scheduling arbitration, for example. Characteristics ofwireless communication may comprise packet types, packet priority,and/or start time and/or end time of communicated frames. Management ofthe characteristics of wireless communication may be performed based onperformance parameters, which may comprise data transmission priorityand/or quality of service (QoS) parameters.

The calibration may be performed based on data generated, via theplurality of RF transceivers 234, during active and/or idle phases ofoperations. The coexistence manager 216 may be utilized in thecommunication system 200 to manage overall calibration operations, andmay exchange data and/or control signaling with resource manager 246 ofeach the plurality of RF transceivers 234 to perform calibrationoperations. The data may be based on monitoring, via each of theplurality of RF transceivers 234, operations of remaining RF receiversand/or transmitters within the plurality of RF transceivers 234. Themonitoring may be performed during active and/or or idle states in themonitoring RF receivers and/or transmitters. The monitoring may comprisetracking received signal strength indicator (RSSI) data during wirelesstransmission via monitored RF transmitters in the plurality of RFtransceivers 234. A maximum transmission power level for each ofmonitored RF transmitters may be determined, based on monitored data forexample, to enable performing RF reception via monitoring RF receiversin the plurality of RF transceivers 234, during wireless transmissionvia monitored RF transmitters.

Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine and/orcomputer readable storage and/or medium, having stored thereon, amachine code and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for dynamicselection of coexistence method and transmit power level based oncalibration data.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: in a communication devicethat comprises a plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers, eachof which are operable to communicate via one or more of a plurality ofwireless interfaces coupled to a plurality of antennas: detectingpotential interference by an interfering one of said plurality ofwireless transmitters or receivers with operations of an interfered-withone of said plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers; andcalibrating operation of one or more of said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers to mitigate said potential interference,wherein said calibrating comprises one or more of: managing isolationbetween two or more of said plurality of wireless transmitters bycausing one of said plurality of wireless transmitters to access a firstof said plurality of antennas and a second of said plurality of wirelesstransmitters to access a second of said plurality of antennas; managingsystem parameters or physical resources of said communication device orsaid plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers; and managingcharacteristics of wireless communication performed via said pluralityof wireless transmitters or receivers.
 2. The method according to claim1, wherein said calibrating further comprises calibrating operation ofsaid interfering one of said plurality of wireless transmitters orreceivers.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said calibratingfurther comprises calibrating operation of said interfered-with one ofsaid plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said system parameters or physicalresources comprise adaptive frequency bands, time slots, antenna access,frequency hopping (AFH) maps, transmission power, use of linearity orblocking, use of high-low injection, or antenna settings.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said characteristics of wirelesscommunication comprise packet types, packet priority, start time ofcommunicated frames, or end time of communicated frames.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, comprising performing said managingcharacteristics of said wireless communication based on priorityrequirements of said wireless communication or quality of service (QoS)requirements of said wireless communication.
 7. A system comprising: oneor more circuits in a communication device that comprises a plurality ofantennas coupled to a plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers insaid communication device, each of said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers being operable to communicate via one or moreof a plurality of wireless interfaces in said communication device; saidone or more circuits being operable to detect potential interference byan interfering one of said plurality of wireless transmitters orreceivers with operations of an interfered-with one of said plurality ofwireless transmitters or receivers; and said one or more circuits beingoperable to calibrate operation of one or more of said plurality ofwireless transmitters or receivers to mitigate said potentialinterference, wherein said one or more circuits being operable tocalibrate operation comprises said one or more circuits being operableto one or more of: manage isolation between two or more of saidplurality of wireless transmitters by causing one of said plurality ofwireless transmitters to access a first of said plurality of antennasand a second of said plurality of wireless transmitters to access asecond of said plurality of antennas; manage system parameters orphysical resources of said communication device or said plurality ofwireless transmitters or receivers; and manage characteristics ofwireless communication performed via said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers.
 8. The system according to claim 7, whereinsaid one or more circuits are operable to calibrate operation duringpowering on of said communication device, during communication setup ofsaid plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers, or dynamicallyduring operations of said plurality of wireless transmitters orreceivers.
 9. The system according to claim 7, wherein said one or morecircuits are operable to exchange data or control signaling between acoexistence manager in said communication device and each of saidplurality of wireless transmitters or receivers during idle or activeperiods to enable said calibration.
 10. The system according to claim 7,wherein said one or more circuits are operable to monitor, via each ofsaid plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers, operations ofother ones of said plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers todetect said potential interference.
 11. The system according to claim 7,wherein said one or more circuits are operable to track a receivedsignal strength indicator (RSSI) during wireless transmission by saidplurality of wireless transmitters or receivers.
 12. The systemaccording to claim 7, wherein said one or more circuits are operable todetermine a maximum transmission power for said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers during wireless transmission.
 13. A systemcomprising: a control system in communication with a radio frequency(RF) front-end subsystem, said RF front-end subsystem comprising aplurality of antennas coupled to a plurality of wireless transmitters orreceivers in a communication device, each of said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers operable to communicate via one or more of aplurality of wireless interfaces in said communication device; saidcontrol system configured to detect, based on interference data providedby said RF front-end subsystem, potential interference by an interferingone of said plurality of wireless transmitters or receivers withoperations of an interfered-with one of said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers; and said control system configured tomitigate said potential interference by providing calibration data tosaid interfered-with one or more of said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers, wherein said control system configured tomitigate said potential interference comprises said control system beingconfigured to one or more of: manage isolation between two or more ofsaid plurality of wireless transmitters by causing one of said pluralityof wireless transmitters to access a first of said plurality of antennasand a second of said plurality of wireless transmitters to access asecond of said plurality of antennas; manage system parameters orphysical resources of said communication device or said plurality ofwireless transmitters or receivers; and manage characteristics ofwireless communication performed via said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers.
 14. The system according to claim 13, whereinsaid control system is further configured to mitigate said potentialinterference during powering on of said communication device, duringcommunication setup of said plurality of wireless transmitters orreceivers, or dynamically during operations of said plurality ofwireless transmitters or receivers.
 15. The system according to claim13, wherein said calibration data comprises adaptive frequency bands,time slots, antenna access, frequency hopping (AFH) maps, transmissionpower, linearity control data, blocking control data, high-low injectioncontrol data, or antenna settings.
 16. The system according to claim 13,wherein said calibration data comprises packet types, packet priority,start time of communicated frames, or end time of communicated frames.17. The system according to claim 13, wherein said control system isfurther configured to exchange said interference data or saidcalibration data during idle or active periods.
 18. The system accordingto claim 13, wherein said control system is further configured tomonitor, via each of said plurality of wireless transmitters orreceivers, operations of other ones of said plurality of wirelesstransmitters or receivers to detect said potential interference.